Why do we need to study technology?

From cave painting to web articles, black and white television to HD television, and wright brothers to Boeing 787. Due to the vast changes and the difference of todays technology from the past, it is so easy to loose track on how we got to this stage in technology. And not just that we are still hungry for more. But how did we get here? Technology has been in constant evolution. However most of this evolution did not just happen without precedence. And technology has evolved because of the need that current or old technologies were not able to provide. Studying technology will help us see the trend of the changes and will allow us to have an idea on how will this technology evolve in the future. It will also allow us to patch up design flaws and optimize systems which will later on develop to become a new technology.

From past to present. From present to future and Future becomes past.

Do you fear the future in terms of technological development?

As for me I really fear the future. Just by looking at today’s technological developments you can see that most of these technologies contribute on the downgrade of our environment. Like it or not we are using our resources at a very fast rate only time can tell when it will run out. We are paying for convenience at a very high price. If we won’t make a move to save our planet now from ourselves then there is nothing in store for us but a dark future.

Reasons for using technology

There are lots of different technology out there today and our reasons for using them differ from technology to technology. But the most common reason for us to use these technologies is for convenience. Since time is moving so fast today we tend to use technology to save time and energy. Another thing is the need. Most technologies today has become standard for everyday lives thus we are forced to learn and use them. Another reason for using technology is for entertainment. Technologies today are not just made to answer are needs but also to entertain us. The last reason maybe is to blend with society and stay updated with the technological developments that happens on a very fast pace.

Artificial Intelligence (Future Tech. Report Unit 1)

Artificial Technology

Introduction

A.I Today (“Where are we now?”)

Present Capabilities

Research and Development

Future of A.I Technology

Reference

Introduction

— What is Artificial Intelligence?

— Defined as the part of computer science concerned with designing systems that exhibit the characteristics associated with human intelligence.

— Ultimate goal of Artificial Intelligence research

— The ultimate aim is to make computer programs that are capable of solving problems and achieving goals in the world as well as humans.

A.I Today (Where are we now?)

— Symbolic A.I systems today are only as smart as the programmer who created it.

— Are designed and programmed rather than trained or evolved.

— Function under rules and rarely proving effective outside of their assigned domain.

Present Capabilities

— Signal processing uses electronic circuitry to detect and convert signals (such as X-ray, ultrasonic, infra-red) into images or sound to aid in signal interpretation. Subtypes include digital signal processing, analogue, audio, speech and video, and signals from arrayed sensors.

— Pattern recognition is a branch of artificial intelligence that can assist in recognizing an obscure property from raw input data. A machine capable of pattern recognition can be trained to extract certain features - such as car licence plate numbers - and guide an automated system into making intelligent decisions.

— Surveillance systems involve the collection and analysis of data by electronic circuits. The data may enable timely action to be taken with regard to security, border control or the control of a disease.

— Decision support systems involve software applications that help analyze data contained within a customized database to support decision-making. This computer technology is used in the management of real estate portfolios, healthcare, cost accounting and budgeting.

— Threat and risk analysis applications are electronic-based methods for defining and analyzing threats and vulnerabilities associated with a set of assets or capabilities and supply management with information to develop corrective measures.

— System diagnostics use unique signal processing method in a number of industries including metal cutting, machine grinding and materials-handling industries.

A.I Applications

— Some AI applications today are as ff.:

— Game Playing

— Speech Recognition

— Understanding Natural Language

— Computer Vision

— Expert Systems

— Heuristic Classifications

Research and Development

— Scientist are beginning to look much more on at the mechanisms of the brain an the way it learns, evolves and develops intelligence from a sense of being conscious (Aleksander, 2002).

— Trying to develop Artificial Neural Networks (ANN’s). These computational-cognitive-models are designed to exhibit some form of learning and ‘common-sense’ by drawing links between meanings (Hsiung, 2002)

— Using Genetic Algorithms in making wise decisions

References

— John McCarthy (2007), “What is Artificial Intelligence”, http://www.usq.edu.au/library/help/ehelp/ref_guides/harvardonline.htm

— “Understanding Artificial Intelligence”,

http://www.csiro.au/science/psc9.html

— Alexander Huw Arnall (2003), “Future Technologies Today’s Choices: N a n o t e c h n o l o g y, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics; A technical, political and institutional map of emerging technologies.”, http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/MultimediaFiles/Live/FullReport/5886.pdf

— “ Artificail Intelligence”, http://future.wikia.com/wiki/Artificial_Intelligence#Future_prospects

Research Preference

As a computer science student i thought that a research related to algorithms will be good. But because of the events this past few days. Particularly the crisis that is arising not only in our country but the crisis world wide I think its best to create research that aims in creating innovative solutions for current problems. How ever as a computer science student in this university it is also important not to stray from the field of my studies. Thus is best to incorporate Information Technology with other fields in creating an output that will benefit a lot of people.

State of computer science research

Source: http://csp.org.ph/

The research I read was about using Information technology in medical applications particularly for brain studies. The title of the paper is "Medical Grid: Using Grid Technology for Brain Studies". In the said study they are trying to use the existing technologies and algorithms to meet the growing demand for information storage and computational demands of brain studies. They are trying to develop this to use it with current brain testing facilities such as MRI and fMRI. From that context alone i can say that computing research is crossing over to medical researches to provide faster and more reliable systems that will help prolong, study and save lives.

Methods of Research (Assignment 1)

Nate Jordan L. Castillo BSCS - 4
Methods of Research

Report 1:

How Secure is your Network?

Information Technology is rapidly expanding. An example is the improvement of networks. Larger networks are being build day by day. There are also various ways to access a network today. These developments also amplifies the risk of unauthorized intrusion to networks. Thus as the network expands the security problems become more prominent.

Network attacks does not only come from outside the network but can also come from within the network itself. Attacks can come from unauthorized persons who are connected to the network or even from authorized persons with ill intentions. That's why there are a number of security strategies which are developed to protect your network. An example of this is the "IronGate". It functions by protecting the entry points of your Ethernet to stop unwanted traffic which can cause irreparable harm. This is a sure way to prevent eves dropping on your network. However this strategy is only effective for unauthorized IP addresses thus the network can still be accessed by unauthorized users using computers with valid MAC addresses.

Therefore security of the network must not just be virtual but also physical. There must be an assurance that only authorized users can use authorized computers.

Reference:

George Gray, "How Secure is your Network?" 2006
"http://www.gdc.com/inotes/pdf/074_scsec_wp04.pdf"


Report 2:

Is there a usability problem in open source software?

Open Source Software became famous recently. However most users would not like to use it because according to many it is hard to use and learn. Most users still want to use commercial proprietary softwares rather than open source softwares. Is it really that hard to use? For us, IT students it might not be that hard however for average users they find it hard to use. This maybe because open source softwares take several years to mature. Meaning constant upgrades will be done thus adding complexity in learning the software. Another is the existence of similar softwares. Most proprietary softwares had already exist for a long time. This may contribute to its memorability.

Usability is typically described in terms of five characteristics: ease of learning, efficiency of use,
memorability, error frequency and severity, and subjective satisfaction (Nielsen, 1993). This characteristics can be influenced by how long the software have been in existence.

All software have complexity in learning and using. Its just up to the user to have patience in learning.

Reference:

David M Nichols and Michael B Twidale, "Usability and Open Source Software" 2002
"http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/nicholstwidale1.pdf"


Report 3:

Privacy and the Internet

Privacy alone is a very complex thing to discuss. How much more when you use that word with the internet. The meaning of the word "privacy" stems from latin "privare" - to separate(Przemyslaw Kordasiewicz, 2000). Internet makes access to information convenient and easy. When your private information is placed on the web it becomes a threat to privacy. The convenience and power of the internet makes is a dangerous place for your private files. It can be processed and transfered to unlimited recipients.

For better web access Cookies were introduced. These are text files which contain information about previous transactions. Cookies becomes a threat because it can be modified to serve as a tracking tool.
This cookies can be used to profile the users or to get information from the user. When used like this cookies became a tool in invading our privacy.

Reference:

Przemyslaw Kordasiewicz, "Cookies a Threat" 2000
"http://www.geocities.com/kordasp/sem/seminar.html"